Also known as: procedures · rules of procedure · civil procedure
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A method or course of action for conducting legal proceedings or other formal processes. The judicial rule or manner for carrying on a civil lawsuit or criminal prosecution determines notice, hearing, and decision rights.
Phoebe Park borrowed from Patriot Insurance to buy land and later defaulted. Patriot sought to foreclose. Because the jurisdiction follows the title theory, Patriot held legal title and Phoebe held only an equity of redemption, so the foreclosure procedure allowed Patriot to take possession without a separate action. Phoebe could redeem only by paying the full debt before sale.
Patrick Phan produced privileged emails during discovery in a contract suit against Prism Analytics. Upon realizing the error, Patrick promptly notified opposing counsel and requested return of the documents under the applicable federal rule. The court held that the prompt rectification preserved the privilege because the steps taken satisfied the rule's requirements.
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Preston Pratt served broad document requests on Parker Phillips in a commercial dispute without narrowing them to relevant issues. Parker moved for a protective order. The court sanctioned Preston because the requests were frivolous and he failed to make a diligent effort to comply with proper discovery obligations.
Piper Patel sued Pedro Pacheco in federal court under diversity jurisdiction. A state procedural rule conflicted with a valid Federal Rule of Civil Procedure on point. The federal rule applied because it was arguably procedural and valid under the Rules Enabling Act, preventing forum shopping concerns from altering the outcome.
Phoenix Technologies was sued in state court and decided to remove the case. Within thirty days of service it filed a notice of removal in the proper federal district court containing a short statement of grounds and copies of all served process and pleadings. The removal became effective upon filing.
Pacific Bank adopted a bylaw requiring inclusion of shareholder-nominated directors in its proxy statement for board elections. When a shareholder nominated a candidate, the corporation included the nominee as required by the bylaw procedures. The election proceeded with both board and shareholder nominees on the ballot.
When a valid Federal Rule of Civil Procedure is on point, it governs even if it conflicts with state law, provided the federal rule is arguably procedural and valid under the Rules Enabling Act. In areas without a federal directive, state law applies if ignoring it would encourage forum shopping.
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Under the title theory the mortgagee holds legal title and the mortgagor has only an equity of redemption, altering rights to possession and the steps required in foreclosure. The lien theory leaves legal title with the mortgagor and creates only a lien, changing notice and sale procedures accordingly.
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The holder must have taken reasonable steps to prevent disclosure and must promptly take reasonable steps to rectify the error, including following Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(5)(B) when applicable.
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A lawyer violates the rule by making a frivolous discovery request or by failing to make a reasonably diligent effort to comply with a legally proper discovery request from an opposing party.
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…second trimester and early abortions in the presence of existing medical complications be performed in hospitals as inpatient procedures. For pregnancies in the first trimester, abortion in the hospital with or without overnight stay "is probably the safest practice." An abortion in an extramural facility, however, is an…